Burks et al. v. Lasker et al.

Decided May 14, 1979. William Joseph Brennan Jr. delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 77-1724 · 441 U.S. 471 (1979) · Cited 435 times

Holding

In suits alleging violations of the ICA and IAA, federal courts should, as a matter of federal law, apply state law governing the authority of independent directors to discontinue derivative suits to the extent such law is consistent with the policies of the ICA and the IAA.

The Court’s statement of the holding, from the opinion’s syllabus. The syllabus is prepared by the Reporter of Decisions and is not part of the opinion of the Court — read the official opinion for authority.

How the Justices voted

Decided 8–0.

“Concurring” means agreeing with the outcome; any split shown is the Court’s judgment, not each Justice’s reasoning. Source: the Supreme Court Database (Spaeth et al.), Washington University.

Precedents cited

Supreme Court decisions this opinion relies on, ordered by how often it cites each. Cases in our collection link through; others are named.

• J. I. Case Co. v. Borak · 377 U.S. 426 (1964)
• Santa Fe Industries, Inc. v. Green · 430 U.S. 462 (1977)
• Robertson v. Wegmann · 436 U.S. 584 (1978)
• Board of Comm'rs of Jackson Cty. v. United States · 308 U.S. 343 (1939)
• Sola Electric Co. v. Jefferson Electric Co. · 317 U.S. 173 (1942)
• Butner v. United States · 440 U.S. 48 (1979)
• Cort v. Ash · 422 U.S. 66 (1975)
• United States v. Kimbell Foods, Inc. · 440 U.S. 715 (1979)
• International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace & Agricultural Implement Workers of America v. Hoosier Cardinal Corp. · 383 U.S. 696 (1966)
• De Sylva v. Ballentine · 351 U.S. 570 (1956)
• Wallis v. Pan American Petroleum Corp. · 384 U.S. 63 (1966)
• Deitrick v. Greaney · 309 U.S. 190 (1940)
• United Copper Securities Co. v. Amalgamated Copper Co. · 244 U.S. 261 (1917)
• Erie Railroad v. Tompkins · 304 U.S. 64 (1938)
• Mt. Healthy City School District Board of Education v. Doyle · 429 U.S. 274 (1977)
• Bell v. Hood · 327 U.S. 678 (1946)
• Textile Workers v. Lincoln Mills of Ala. · 353 U.S. 448 (1957)
• Johnson v. Railway Express Agency, Inc. · 421 U.S. 454 (1975)
• Securities & Exchange Commission v. Capital Gains Research Bureau, Inc. · 375 U.S. 180 (1963)
• United States v. Yazell · 382 U.S. 341 (1966)
• Tunstall v. Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen & Enginemen · 323 U.S. 210 (1945)
• United States v. Little Lake Misere Land Co. · 412 U.S. 580 (1973)
• United States v. National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc. · 422 U.S. 694 (1975)
• Brown v. Western R. Co. of Ala. · 338 U.S. 294 (1949)
• Price v. Gurney · 324 U.S. 100 (1945)

Cited by

Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.

• Kamen v. Kemper Financial Services, Inc. · 500 U.S. 90 (1991)
• Daily Income Fund, Inc. v. Fox · 464 U.S. 523 (1984)
• Transamerica Mortgage Advisors, Inc. v. Lewis · 444 U.S. 11 (1979)
• Carlson v. Green · 446 U.S. 14 (1980)
• Maine v. Thiboutot · 448 U.S. 1 (1980)
• United States v. Bestfoods · 524 U.S. 51 (1998)
• United States v. Rodgers · 461 U.S. 677 (1983)
• Lebron v. National Railroad Passenger Corporation · 513 U.S. 374 (1995)
• Air Courier Conference of America v. American Postal Workers Union · 498 U.S. 517 (1991)
• Three Affiliated Tribes of the Fort Berthold Reservation v. Wold Engineering, P. C. · 476 U.S. 877 (1986)
• Federal Election Commission v. National Right to Work Committee · 459 U.S. 197 (1982)
• Northwest Airlines, Inc. v. County of Kent · 510 U.S. 355 (1994)

Official text

Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)

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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1979). Citation count from the Free Law Project’s CourtListener bulk data. Data last verified 2026-07-03. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).